When the whole is done, he weaves a hole in some sly corner, into which he retreats; but the moment that a fly gets entangled in his net, he darts forth, binds him round and round like a prisoner, and carries him off to his den. Such was the main part of the dialogue that passed between Jack and his aunt. The boy expressed great satisfaction for what she had told him, and then went away to take another walk in the fields. [Illustration] The Hoop; or Look ere you Leap. See this boy with his hoop! How the hoop flies, and how the little fellow enjoys the fun! But take care, George! take care――there is a ditch before you! But, alas, George is like other boys, so eager in his sport that he thinks of nothing else. On goes the hoop, and on goes George after it. By-and-by, he comes to the ditch. The hoop bounds across, and poor George tumbles in! What a sight he is when he comes out――all over mud! Next time, George, look before you leap――or, in other words, be not so absorbed in your sport, as to forget everything else. Look a little before you, and see that you run into no danger. This looking before, is what we call _prudence_. This heedless running on, without seeing where one is going, we call imprudence. A prudent person will seldom get into trouble; an imprudent person is very likely to get into a great deal. George was an imprudent boy, and tumbled into the ditch. Let my young friends take warning by his mishap; let them cultivate prudence; in other words, let them look ere they leap. [Illustration] Hay-Making. It is very pleasant to see the men at work making the hay and getting it into the barn. Do you not love to hear the mower whetting his scythe? Do you not love to see him swing his blade through the grass, and see it fall before him? And how sweet is the fragrance of the new-mown hay! When it is dry, do you not love to see the men rake it into heaps; then toss it on to the cart and carry it away? Hay-making is, indeed, a pleasant business, and it is very useful also. What would the poor cows and horses do in winter if they had no hay? In winter, the grass is dead, the leaves have fallen from trees and shrubs, and the earth is covered with snow. If there were no hay in the barn, the horses, the cows, and the sheep would all perish. We should then have no horse to draw us along in the sleigh; no cow to give us milk; no sheep to supply us with wool for clothing. Hay-making is therefore very important business. What do you think the people do in very cold countries, where no grass grows? They are obliged to use reindeer, who feed on moss, and do not need hay. These creatures give milk, like cows; they draw sledges, like horses; and their flesh is as good as the beef of the ox. [Illustration] The Moth. The moth looks like a butterfly, but it is not so beautiful. The moth usually flies by night, and the butterfly by day.